Mr Green profits dip on increased marketing costs
Revenues climb 43% but EBITDA falls short of 2018 financial targets
Mr Green (MRG) has reported 13% fall in profits during the second quarter of 2018, despite a strong 43.4% year-on-year rise in revenues in the three-month period.
The Scandinavian operator reported Q2 revenues of SEK412.8m (£35.5m), although EBITDA fell 13% year-on-year to SEK45.4m (£3.9m).
MRG attributed the drop to an “increased cost of services sold and higher marketing costs.” As a result, the firm’s EBITDA margin fell to a Q2 2018 low of 11% from a previous Q2 2017 high of 18.2%.
The number of customer deposits increased sharply during the quarter, rising by 64.3% year-on-year to SEK1,328.8m (£114.6m).
During the period, the firm rebranded to a new name of MRG, which CEO Per Norman called a “natural progression” as the business expands its brand portfolio and geographic presence.
MRG also completed the acquisition of Evoke Gaming during the quarter, with Norman calling the business MRG’s “new golden egg”.
Norman added: “We are securing our position as one of the rapidly growing companies of Nasdaq Stockholm.”
Norman also confirmed that “intensive” work on a new Swedish online gaming licence application is currently taking place at MRG. Under the new Swedish regulatory regime licence applications will be accepted by Lottoinspektionen from 1 August, with new licenses being awarded from 1 January 2019.
MRG also announced its financial targets for the rest of the year, aiming to deliver revenue growth of not less than 40% and an EBITDA margin of 15%. MRG confirmed that it is aiming to have annual revenue growth of 25% and an EBITDA margin of 15% by 2020.